Machine for folding paper.



H; WOLLHEIM. MACHINE FOR FOLDING PAPER. APPLIGATIQN FILED NOV. 27, 1909.

980,385. Patented Jan.3,1911,

HEINRICH WOLLHEIM, 0F BERLIN, GERMANY.

MACHINE FOR FOLDING PAPER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 3, 1911.

Application filed November 27, 1909. Serial No. 530,234.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HEINRICH WOLLHEIM, subject of the Emperor of Germany, residing at Berlin, Germany, have invented new and useful Improvements in Machines for Folding Paper, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to folding machines; and has for its main object to provide a simple, positive and efiicient machine for bending or doubling in short folds and in opposite directions strips of card-board, of indefinite length, and by the same operation feed the accordion folded strips into a suitable receptacle where they are subjected to sufficient pressure to flatten the folds that they may remain in this folded condition. Preferably the material to be folded is perforated, rouletted or thinned in any suitable manner on the lines of the folds for the purpose of more easily accomplishing the object sought, but this treatment of the material is not necessary when thin card-board or light paper is to be operated on.

lVith these and other objects in view, the invention consists in the novel construction, combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter described, and claimed, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which,

Figure 1 is a front elevation of one form of the invention designed for folding tickets printed on a continuous strip with transverse rows of perforations or indentations on the lines of the folds; Fig. 2, a side elevation of the same; Figs. 3 and 4:, detail views of the folders in difierent positions. Fig. 5 is a view of a modification of the folding fingers.

Similar reference characters are used for similar parts in all the figures.

In the accompanying drawing, which rep resents one form of the invention designed for folding strips of light card-board on which tickets are printed, 1 designates a base-plate, here shown in vertical position as a matter of convenience, on the face of which are attached two parallel plates 2 suitably spaced apart to form a receptacle in connection with the base-plate l, to receive the strip after being folded. The plates 2 extend longitudinally of the base-plate 1 and form the sides of the receptacle, the front of which comprises a swinging plate 3 pivoted on the base plate 1 near the upper ends of the fixed plates 2 and adapted to swing laterally, as

shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1 to permit the foliled strip to be removed from the receptac e.

Near the upper end of the base-plate 1 is a shaft 4 perpendicular to said plate and journaled therein and in a bracket 5 attached to the rear of the plate. Secured on the shaft 4 is a peripheral cam disk 6 and a hand crank 7 for rotating the shaft.

Disposed vertically near each edge of the base-plate 1 is a rocking lever fulerumed intermediate its length to the base-plate at 11. These levers, 8, 8 each carry a roller 9, 9 respectively, which are held against the periphery of the cam disk 6 by a contractile spring 10 connected to the upper ends of said levers. The lower ends of the levers have securely fastened thereto curved spring fingers 12, 12 respectively, normally concentric with the axis of vibration of the levers 8, 8 and'adapted when operated to swing below the plates 2 and fold the strip and close the lower end of the receptacle, as clearly shown in Fig. 1. Each lever 8, 8 carries an adjustable stop-screw 14, adapted to bear against the respective plates 2 when the levers are swung inwardly and limit their movement in this direction. The out ward limit of movement of the levers is regulated by adjusting screws 15 mounted in arms 15 extending laterally from the base-plate 1. lVithin the receptacle is a weight '13 which rests on the strip and flattens the folds as they are fed into the receptacle during the operation of the machine. The width of the receptacle or distance between the plates 2 depends upon the length of the tickets or folds of the strips which are fed thereinto, while the width of the two plates 2 depends upon the width of the strip to be folded. The spring fingers 12, 12 are preferably of the same width as the strip which they fold and serve two purposes, first, theyclosc the lower end of the receptacle alternately, pressing at the same time the doubled up strip into the receptacle, and in the second place, they fold the strip in accordion fashion.

Instead of making the fingers of resilient material, they may be made stiff as at 12 Fig. 5, and pivoted on the lower ends of the swinging levers, and their free ends held in elevated position by means of springs 20.

The correct folding of the strip is determined by the exact movement of the swinging levers 8, 8 and their fingers 12, 12

makes a sudden dip toward its center of rotation for a certain distance and then gradually works toward the periphery from point x back to the point y. This peripheral edge working against the rollers 9, 9 of the levers 8, S imparts to the levers the proper movements and dwell necessary to fold the strip with their folded portion thereof held with the superposed weight 13 within the receptacle.

In the operation of the machine let it be assumed that the parts are in the position represented in Fig. 1 with the spring finger 12 in its innermost position closing the lower end of the receptacle, and holding the last fold of the strip p against the right hand plate 2, and the lever 8 in its outermost position with the finger 12 withdrawn from below the receptacle. In this position of the levers the roller 9 of the lever 8 will bear against the concentric portion of the cam disk 6 and the roller 9 of the lever 8 will lie in the lowermost portion of said cam at a point If now the hand crank 7 be operated to turn the cam disk 6 in the direction indicated by the arrow, the lever S riding against the concentric portion of the cam disk 6 will remain at rest while the lever 8 will be rocked by that portion of the cam between at and y to bring the spring finger 12 below the receptacle and under the spring finger 12, carrying with it the depending strip 9, as clearly represented in Fig. 3. By the time the point i/ of the cam 6 has reached the roller 9 and completed the swinging movement of the lever 8 the spring finger 12 will have passed under the receptacle to the opposite side thereof as shown in Fig. 4:, pressing the strip 7) against the under surface of the spring finger 12, which it must be remembered has remained quiet owing to the fact that the concentric portion of the cam has been continuously in cont-act with the roller 9. Continued movement of the cam 6 holds the two fingers in the position just described until the point 2 reaches the roller 9 on the lever 8 when it quickly drops to the point :0 under the influence of the spring 10 and suddenly withdraws the spring finger 12 from beneath the receptacle, the spring finger 12 which had in the meantime been under tension immediately springs to normal position and .carries that portion of the strip p lying thereover into the receptacle, leaving the remainder of the strip hanging below ready to be folded when the swinging lever S is moved inwardly by the cam, in a manner similar to the movement of the lever 8, previously described. By continuously turning the handle 7 the fingers 12, 12 will alter-- nately move beneath and away from the receptacle, thereby folding the strip 7) in accordion folds g and at the same time pressing these folds upward into the receptacle against the downward pressure of the weight 13.

lVhile I have described this invention for the special purpose of foldi'm strips of cardboard, on which tickets are printed, it may i be used with slight changes for folding numerous other articles, and may be placed in any position most convenient for operation. One use to which it may be applied is in connection with a ticket printing machine, and so disposed thereon that the ticket strip completely printed and perforated as it issues from the machine may pass directly to the folding machine and there be folded in the manner described.

hat I claim is:

1. A machine of the character described comprising a receptacle open at one end, folders provided with yielding fingers for laying a continuous strip of material in alternate folds within the open end of said receptacle, one of said fingers being held stationary w1th1n said open end wlnle the other folder is folding the strip, and a simle rotating means acting directly on both folders for operating them and for holding them stationary in proper time.

2. A machine of the character described comprising a receptacle open at one end, folders provided with resilient fingers for laying a continuous strip of material in alternate folds within the mouth of the receptacle, one of said fingers being held stationary to close the entrance to the receptacle while the other folder is folding the strip, and a cam disk common to both folders for operating and holding them stationary in proper time.

. said receptacle alternately, a single cam for operating both levers, said levers each having a finger on their free ends adapted to operate alternately on opposite sides of a strip to fold the same within said receptacle, said fingers alternately closing the entrance to the receptacle one of said fingers being retained by said cam across the entrance to the receptacle while the other finger is forming a fold in said strip.

4- A machine of the character described comprising a receptacle having two of its sides adjustable and a third side movable laterally to permit entrance into said receptacle, a lever fulcrumed adjacent each adjustable side of the receptacle, a resilient finger on the lower end of each lever, and a cam 00111111011 to both levers adapted to alternately swing said levers to and from the receptacle so as to cause said fingers to pass across the mouth of the same and lay a con tinuous strip of material in accordion folds therein and at the same time force said folds into said receptacle.

5. A machine of the character described comprising a receptacle, a lever fulcrumed on each side thereof, a yielding finger on the lower end of each lever, a cam having a working surface adapted to alternately swing said levers to cause the fingers thereon to lay a continuous strip of material in accordion folds and press said folds into said receptacle, and adjustable stops for limiting the swinging movement of the levers.

6. A machine of the character described comprising a receptacle open at one end, folders provided with yielding fingers for laying a continuous strip of material in alternate folds within the open end of said receptacle, one of said fingers being held stationary within said open end while the other folder is folding the strip, a single rotating means acting directly 011 both folders for operating them and for holding them stationary in proper time, and a resilient means connecting the folders for retaining them in engagement with the rotating means,

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of two subscribing wit nesses.

HEINRICH WOLLI-IEIM.

Witnesses:

NIooLAUs A. B. v. YETTENBLADT, HENRY HAsPER. 

